The present invention relates to a special purpose tool for the removal of canister type oil filters from engines and, more specifically, to a tool which enables removal of oil filters without spillage therefrom, and which then can be used to refill the engine with oil.
Conventional canister type oil filters are normally placed on the bottoms of internal combustion engines where there is little access resulting in a very messy procedure of removal. Generally, the mechanic must loosen the seal on the filter with a single purpose wrench, and subsequently unscrew the filter by hand thereby resulting in hot oil within the filter spilling over and down the sides of the filter. In this way, the oil that spills over the sides of the filter gets on to the mechanic making the procedure both undesirable due to the resulting mess and potentially hazardous as the oil may burn the mechanic.
There have been known, tools which facilitate the removal of oil filters without creating a mess as in the general method. One such tool is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,529, issued to Sikula, Jr., which shows a filter wrench which is placed around the oil filter and used to puncture the filter and drain the oil therefrom. In this invention, the tool is used to drain the oil from the filter before the filter is removed from the engine, and thereby prevent any spillage. It is seen that this procedure has drawbacks in that a substantial length of time must be provided for the filter to drain, and the spillage may still occur when the oil is removed from the tool itself.
Another tool which is known in the art is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,452, issued to Christ, which shows an oil filter wrench comprising a special configuration related to the external configuration of a certain canister type oil filter. The tool forms a polygonal socket which engages the end of the filter canister, and also has a reservoir for oil which leaks from the filter canister. Such a tool cannot be generally used with all oil filter configurations, and again spillage may occur when the oil is to be removed from the reservoir provided in the tool.
There has been a long-felt need for a tool which would be both convenient to use while providing clean removal of oil filters, and which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. There has also been a need for providing a tool which can subsequently be used to refill the internal combustion engine with oil to complete the oil changing process.